TT: Silver Shadows
by almbookbuyer
Summary: in this sequel to Travel Through: Bloodlines (link inside), Evie Travels back into the Bloodlines world. This time, she's prepared, but can she find the answers she's looking for and still find the time to save both Sydney and Jill?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all the fans of TT: Bloodlines! Thanks for clicking on the sequel! I've planned this one out a little better than the last, and I'm trying to improve my writing, so -hopefully- this one will be better than the last! Normally, at the beginning of a TT story, I'd say all we'd learned, but since this is the second story in the same category, I assume you all know everything. If you don't, you probably need a link to the original story.**

**Original: s/9887838/1/Travel-Through-Bloodlines**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters. Just Evie and the Travelers.**

The air is dry.

It's dry? I open my eyes to see a white wall. My walls are not white. I breath in the air again: still dry. The August air at home is anything but dry. The moisture at home is palpable.

But it's dessert dry here.

Like how Palm Springs was.

That means I'm in Silver Shadows, strange since I've never been inside the same series twice. And that brings up a question...

I sit up and turn to my left. An empty dorm bed. No Sydney.

Where is she? There were only two options. She was either on the run, or she was in re-education. I desperately hoped for the first option, though I felt bad for the thought. Poor Chantal, Duncan, Emma, and everyone else would be stuck there, but I couldn't help it. Maybe -maybe- if Sydney was just on the run, I could find a way to get them out, but I had to worry about Sydney first.

Looking at the clock, I realized there wasn't one. It had been Sydney's. I looked at my phone and saw that I had about an hour before I needed to head down for breakfast. No one would be there now, and I would get no answers, so I started looking around.

Most of the same stuff was here as the last time, except I now have my mom's journal the one she'd given me the day I'd woken up from The Fiery Heart: on my sixteenth birthday.

I have already read the journal again and again, but I keep finding myself revisiting it, hoping it would tell me something new.

I rarely read it in order, but this morning, I read the first entry. It's from Ms. Terwilliger -er Jackie.

.

_Therese,_

_H__i__! It's Jackie! I thought we could write in here back and __f__orth since __you're__ gone so much. Is that okay? We can w__r__it__e__ wh__a__t we've been __d__oing and stuff. __I__'ll start._

_I've bee__n__ learnin__g__ abou__t__ geograp__h__y __i__n __s__ocial studies. Did __you__ know th__a__t __A__laska gets da__r__k for a bunch of months at a tim__e__? __A__nd then it's light for a __b__unch __o__f months at a time! Now I kind of want to go to Alaska. No bedtime!_

_Mom took Veronica and me to the zoo yesterday. I saw a jag__u__ar up close! I__t__ was so cool! I wasn'__t__ scared at all, and Ver__o__nica was._

_Maybe we can write secret stuff in here too. Since no one e__l__s__e__ will re__a__d this. We can w__r__ite about our magics! I've bee__n__ learning some new stuff in magic too. I'm not as good as __Ver__onica __y__et, but Mom says I will be soon. I __c__an sense a__l__l __o__f the element__s__ now, and I can mak__e__ some of them move. __L__ike, toda__y,__ we went swimming, and Veronica and I made waves so we could ride on the noodles. It was so fun!_

_Write back!_

_Jackie_

_._

I never knew Jaclyn Terwilliger to be the type of person to write in purple gel pen, but that's the only medium used for her entries besides some random underlines in various pen colors. Mom's, though, were written in a variety of colors and mediums, also containing various colors of underlining. One entry appeared to be written with ink smeared on with a finger. Not much was written on that page. Just "Nothing to say now. You take your turn."

Why did Mom give this to me? Sure, I liked to see her story, but this was as much as Ms. T knew, and as she said, she doesn't know much.

I'd read it twice over in the past months, and today is no different. I read a few of my favorite entries, one where Mom described spying on some Alchemists to get information for an unnamed friend, another where Jaclyn apparently learned to make her first fireball (not a normal achievement for a ten year old...), and a third where Mom apparently was writing in the dark so as not to wake the enemy with which she was sleeping. It reminds me of war stories or dystopian stories. And makes me wonder if those letters I got all my life were really written by the same person. Then again, she was younger here. How much younger, I don't know.

When a half hour has past, I get dressed and go to the mirror to brush my hair. My reflection shocks me for a second, then I remember I am moroi in this universe. I like being moroi. I'm thinner and acne free. Plus, I'm supposedly Jill's other sister. In other words, I was actually important.

I finish brushing my hair, slip on a pair of black flats, and pull my backpack up onto my shoulder. I barely remember to grab the journal and my room key before I leave.

The cafeteria is busy already. I almost don't grab anything, too anxious to find out what's going on, but my stomach isn't hearing it, so I wait in line to get a paper boat of fruit. On the bright side, they have raspberries again, my favorite. I don't know how they afford them, but I'm not questioning it.

I sit down at the table where I used to, on the side Zoe and Sydney used to sit. Jill is already cutting a soggy pancake into small pieces. Eddie sits two seats over, eating his fruit.

"Hey," I say to them.

Jill looks up at me, a little surprised. "Oh, hey. I didn't hear you sit down."

I hadn't made a secret of it. The chair squeaked. "Sorry if I scared you."

She put her knife and fork down. "I guess Adrian's rubbing off on me more than I thought."

I want to think that could mean either option, but I know it can't. Sydney is gone.

Now I just have to figure out if they know I'm here or if they think I've always been here. Ms. Terwilliger said people forgot after my mom left. She had already been using magic, so she remembered. I guess Veronica would remember too, now that I think about it, but she won't be helpful. She wouldn't be helpful if she _wasn't_ in a coma... I'm pretty sure she'd just magic me to a pulp.

How do you ask if they remember you if the answer is yes either way?

I suppose I'd just have to ask Ms. Terwilliger. Or Adrian. And Adrian kind of needed to see me first.

I resolved to get to Adrian after class. I had my schedule, and still remembered how to get to my classes, so that won't be a problem this time around. I wonder if Ms. Terwilliger will notice my being different today as she did last time. That's likely what will happen, I decide.

But she doesn't. She's so distracted... more so than usual. The class is spent watching a movie. Rumors seem to be well known, I discover them throughout the day. One says her boyfriend broke up with her. (Wolfe? No. I really doubt it.) One says someone in her family is in the hospital. (Well, uh, closer.) One says she's dying. (Where did that one even come from?) One says she's on drugs. (Seriously! What person came up with these?) None mention Sydney. Although Kristin approaches me as I'm leaving last period.

"Hey! Evie!"

I turn in surprise "Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if Sydney's coming back for graduation." She was smiling. "I know you can't tell me why she's gone, but can you at least tell me if she's coming back then? Julia and I having a graduation party in our room."

"Oh, uh, I don't think so. No." I wish she could, but there was enough danger after we get her out. Plus, it would probably be too late.

"Oh." She looks sad now. "Well, when you talk to her, tell her Julia and I say hello."

"I will." I smile at her. "Promise."

"See you later, Evie." She waves at me and turns back the way she came.

I forgot completely about them. They have no explanation. Sydney just seemingly left without saying goodbye.

Trying to shake off the foreboding feeling the encounter gave me, I keep moving. Adrian is standing where I thought he'd be, looking only slightly drunk but completely out of it.

"Hey," I say.

He looks to me. "Oh. Hey. Where's Jill?"

"Today's her fashion show. Remember?"

He frowns, and thinks about it. "No..."

"She told you about it last time you guys hung out."

He thinks about it again. "Oh, yeah! Oh! I totally forgot! Why aren't you there?"

I smile at him. "I came to get you."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Am I that inconspicuous?"

"What are you talking about?" So he definitely doesn't know, I'm me.

"Notice anything different about me?"

He frowns again. "Oh, god, you didn't get your hair dyed too, did you?"

I laughed. "No. And I still can't imagine Rowena with blue hair."

"You know Rowena?"

"No. Well, kind of. I know her, but she's never met me."

He shook his head at me. "You don't make any sense?"

"Well, I guess I've just been watching too much Doctor Who, now haven't I?" I nudge his shoulder lightly. "Now let's go get to Jill before she thinks_ both _of us ditched her."

He looks guilty again. "Does she know?"

"Well, she's bonded to you, so yeah, but if it makes you feel any better, she has been pretty apt at blocking you out. And I won't tell."

He just nods and follows me to the car that I know is waiting for me.

**I would love to hear your response to this story so far! Now, I'm going to go work on chapter 2 :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters.**

The fashion show is as glamorous as I thought it would be. Jill's designs are absolutely perfect. Again, that's exactly what I expected. After the show ends, Jill finds us in the crowd.

"That was awesome!" I say and pull her into a hug. She laughs into my shoulder.

"You think? Really?"

"Course, Jailbait." Adrian practically pulls her away from me and into his chest. I hear her talk into his shirt.

"I'm not mad. Stop worrying."

"You stop worrying," he responds. "Or I'm gonna have to cut you off."

She frowns and looks up at him. "No. Adrian, you've got to stop that."

Eddie pulls her into a hug next, holding her tightly around her waist. "You're more talented than you let on."

She laughs again. "They're not that great. I'm still new to this."

"Well," I say, "I'm no expert, but they look perfect to me. I'd wear any of them." That might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but not because they aren't good enough. I'm just really picky with the way things fit. And with the type of fabric they are.

"You know what?" Adrian says, "Let's go out to dinner."

"We already were planning on it," Jill says.

"Somewhere nice," he says. "You deserve it."

She frowns again. "You don't have any money."

"I do," I say, and without checking, I know this is right. I always have a pretty big stack with me whenever I go into these type of books: ones where I'll be moving around. When I was younger, I used to spend a bunch of it, but I haven't spent any if I can help it lately. I don't know where it's coming from. Here, though, I'm willing to make an exception. This was Jill.

"No," Jill said. "From where?"

"Babysitting," I lied quickly, then I realized there was no one here to babysit. "You know, before we came here. I have some from tutoring too. Remember, like I was tutoring Zoe." And I instantly feel bad, because they all stop. The crowd moves around us, but it's as if they lost all of their life in a second.

"Right," Jill said. "Tutoring. You know, I don't really feel like going out anymore. Maybe we can just go back to the dorms."

I ruined it. Me and my stupid mouth. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I brought up-"

Eddie holds up his hand. "Just leave it."

And we are all silent as we walk to the car. Jill nods at a few people who congratulate her, but her smile is fake. In the car everyone stares out the windows. I sit in the middle in the very back, despite not wanting to make that climb. Jill sits in the passenger's seat. Her elbow is pressed against the window. Her chin leans on her hand. I feel bad for mentioning Zoe. It obviously reminded everyone of Sydney, and that's the last thing that needs to get brought up on Jill's big night. This heaviness was exactly what needed to be avoided.

This moment, as we're pulling into the Amberwood lot, is when I realize that I'm going to have to be more careful this time around than any other time before. In other books, I could say something stupid sometimes by mistake, and sure it wasn't good, but it didn't ruin the plot. Here, though, I could mess up Adrian even more than he already was with a single wrong ramble, and everything I'd done up to that point would go down the toilet.

"Evie," Eddie says, "We're back."

I click my seat belt undone and start the climb out of the car. This would be easy if I was smaller, but I'm not. Just like it would be easier to get Sydney out if the alchemists were stupid, but they aren't. And it would be easier to get Adrian going if he wasn't a spirit user, but he is.

Basically, life is messed up.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come back with you guys for a while?" Eddie asked Jill again. I'd heard him ask it before. I just wasn't paying a whole lot of attention.

"Yeah," Jill says. "I'm fine."

Maybe this was an opportunity. "Hey," I say, "Actually..." But then I realize he's not going to be open to much. Sydney is what he's focused on. He won't want to hear this.

"What?" Eddie says.

"Nevermind," I say. "I just remembered something, but I realized I already know the answer."

"Okay..." he looks unsure. "If you need me, I'll be in my room."

"I know," I answer, trying to smile like I'm okay without showing me teeth. There are people around. The gesture feels weird and awkward, so I let it drop.

Angeline is holding Jill's hand as we go into the dorms, telling her something quietly enough that I can't hear. Jill just keeps nodding along. It doesn't look like she's actually listening. Eddie wouldn't listen because of his guilt, but Jill? She needs to hear this. This number one fan deserved spoilers.

"Jill," I say, clearly inturrupting Angeline. I don't really care right now.

She looks over to me. Maybe I sound too serious. "Can I talk to you?"

She looks worried, but she nods. "Yeah. Sure."

"Me too?" Angeline asks, hopefully. I shake my head.

"Not right now. Okay?"

She frowns but nods. "Do you want me to stay nearby?"

"No," Jill says. "It's fine. Go upstairs."

Unsure, Angeline looks between us and says, "Okay, but I'll keep my phone on me," before she goes. When she's gone, I walk over to a quiet corner of the lobby.

"Can I tell you something? It'll make me sound a little crazy, but it's important."

"Of course." Jill's eyes have softened. She's trying to make this easy for me. "You can tell me anything, Evie. I'm your sister."

"I'm not Evie."

She looks confused. "What?"

"Well, I am. But I'm not _your _Evie. Today is my first day here since the alchemists tried to take Sydney."

"Okay, one? Yeah. You do sound crazy. Two: tried? They did."

"She tried to run. I took her place. They must have figured it out when I had to leave."

She blinks a few times. Her eyes are glassy. "You're crazy. I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Because of this stupid magic that I don't know how to control. Ms. Terwilliger will remember. She uses human magic. Human magic users are immune to this type of thing. Or at least, it doesn't work as well. That means Sydney remembers too."

"I still don't get it."

"Yesterday, I fell asleep on the East Coast. Today, I woke up in my dorm room."  
"So? You had a dream."

"This isn't my universe. Obviously, what I did before just held them off for a little while, but I know what happens this time around. And you want to know what I'm here for this time? You. Sure, we need to save Sydney, but you guys can do that without me. You _do _do that without me. But you? No one even knows what happened. I don't even know exactly. All I know is when and where."

"Again, what are you talking about?"

I sighed. "Okay, let's just go at this simply. You guys are going to get Sydney out. And I'm not saying that to make everyone feel good. It's the truth."

"How do you know?"

"Because I read past this part."

"Read past it?"

"In the book. It's hard to explain, but- wait, you know what? I can prove it like I did last time: little things. Okay... Um, well Marcus is going to show up soon at Adrian's. He has news. I can't remember if it's today or tomorrow though. I'd have to check. I have the book upstairs."

"So you can tell the future."

"No. Well, kind of. Yes?" I groan. "I should know how to do this by now. I do it every single time, but why is it you that makes me stumble? Seriously... I wouldn't lie. Promise."

"You're crazy." Looking tired, Jill turns to go upstairs.

"Wait! Please, just- You guys do get Sydney out. You have to believe that. I _know _it. I'm going to help Adrian, and you just keep up hoping, okay?"

She looks down. "Sure, Evie. Sure."

Why didn't she believe me this time? She seemed so open at the beginning of TFH. I guess... I guess it was just different now.

**Review corner:**

**Divergent912: Thanks! And maybe... I knew someone would figure it out... Evie catches on soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters.**

Ms. Terwilliger doesn't hesitate to let me in and talk the next morning, even though there is a stack of papers on her desk that clearly needs to be graded.

"You can sit if you want," she says. "Did you get news on Sydney?"

I don't sit. I stand in front of her desk with the journal held against my stomach. "Well, I wanted to ask you if you remembered something."

"Sure, what?"

Not knowing how else to bring it up, I put the journal in front of her. She frowns down at it. "What's this?"

"My mom gave it to me for my birthday. You wrote in it."

She opens it. When she sees the first entry, her eyes widen, and she glances back up at me. "You're back then?"

I nod. "I was hoping you'd remember."

"I do. It was really strange to suddenly have new false memories of you to sort through though. Once is confusing. Twice is just madness."

"So you remember that I tried to help? Jill doesn't."

She nods. "Yes, I do. I'm very thankful for that. I'm sure Sydney is too, wherever she is." Then, the implications of what is happening seem to hit her, and her eyes widen from big to huge. "You know where she is, don't you? We can go get her."

"Well, kind of. Yeah. Except, we can't. We have to wait."

"Why?" She closes the journal. "She's stuck in there. It's been so long. We have to help her."

"It won't help to go now. She needs to do some things first. She'll figure it out, but we have to let her. Otherwise, the alchemists will be able to stop us. Easily." No one was going to get through that high a dosage of gas.

"What does she have to do? Can't we tell her?"

"We can't contact her until she figures it out."

"But does it work? Do we get her out?" She's still sitting in the same position she had been a minute earlier, but her eyes are pleading now.

"Yeah. We do, but we have to do it right, or more like... Adrian has to do it right. We have a little time before we can do anything though, I was hoping to get some help from you."

"Of course. I'd do anything to help her."

"Well, yeah," I say, "I know, and that's great, but I need help with this." I point to the journal. "My mom gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday, but I can't figure out why. So far, it's just interesting. There's no big secrets or anything. "

"Did you try the underlines?"

"What?"

She turns the book and holds the first page up to me. "The underlines. I didn't write them. Obviously since I was going through my gel pens obsession... and my purple sparkles phase... My room was blinding."

I take the book as she speaks and try to link the underlined letters and words together.

I-F-Y-O-U-R-E

"What does it say?" Ms. Terwilliger asks.

"Can I have a pen and a paper?" I answer. She pulls a green pen from a mug and a yellow paper from a drawer. I write it out, reading each word out loud as I get it down.

"If you're reading this, you are about to learn very closely guarded secrets."

Ms. Terwilliger gives me a smug smile. "You see? Secrets. Your mother was always good with those."

"How have I never thought of this?"

"You're too literal." She waves her hand like she's moving this problem aside. "You and Sydney both."

"Do you want to know what it says when I finish?"

She nods. "Of course. I always wondered what Therese did after she left. By the way, what's your father's name?"

That's an odd question. "Will. Short for William."

She laughs. "Oh, please tell me it's the same Willy. She told me about him. She had to have been a young teenager when we met. He was always saying they were going to get married someday and she was going to be his movie star. He wanted to make movies."

I smile a little. "He does. He's filming a small budget film right now."

"Of course he is. Your mom said he was very talented."

"Did she think they were going to get married?"

"She said she loved him more than anyone she'd ever met before."

My eyes stayed glued to the diary now. "But she wasn't going to marry him."

She puts her hand on the diary, close enough that her fingertips touch the side of my hand that rests there, but it's not on top. "You read this, didn't you?"

I nod.

"Then you know how hectic and dangerous being a Traveler can be. She said she wasn't full-fledged yet. She said she'd reach her full potential some time after she turned... oh. Oh!"

"What?" I look up.

"She gave this to you to learn. When you turned sixteen, that's the earliest she might get her full abilities she said. Oh."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. She didn't say much about it. She said she was excited though, that she'd get to go on more exciting missions."

"That's why she didn't marry dad? Why she didn't stay with me? She was doing dangerous missions."

Ms. Terwilliger closes her eyes. "Likely so. But you understand that, don't you? She doesn't want you to suffer that type of a loss."

"But what if we want to?"

"I don't think you do."

I stand. "But I've only seen her in pictures. This journal is the first time I've heard any of her story at all. I want to know her."

"Did you know her dad died when she was twelve?"

The early bell rings. Students will be coming in soon. "What?"

"I don't know if she was twelve, thirteen, maybe fourteen when I knew her, but she acted like it had happened yesterday. It upset her a lot."

I realize I'd never seen a picture of my grandparents on that side of the family. I always assumed it was because my dad didn't want to associate with my mom anymore, but was it because she didn't want to? "Was he a Traveler?"

She nods. "She liked to tell me the stories of all the things he did. She'd talk about him like he was a super hero. She told me once about the mission he went on and didn't come back from. He'd sacrificed himself for another Traveler."

I'd never even considered that Mom might have that much of a background. She was always just this shadowy figure who sent me mail. _Mom_. The word is little more than a signature at the bottom of each sloppy post card.

"I need to go."

"You can talk to me whenever you want." She sounds like she regrets telling me all this. She thinks I am too fragile. Maybe she's still trying to shake of the spirit user stigma I hold now. Or maybe it really is me.

"I know. Thank you."

"Good luck."

I smile in her direction. "Oh, you might want to grade those by the way. I think you'll see how well your classes are paying attention."

She tilts her head a little. I continue.

"They're taking advantage of the situation."

Ms. Terwilliger sighs and picked up a paper from the pile. "Well they would, wouldn't they? I would have."

**Review Corner:**

**DG and Reed: I hope you did read the first one! This story will make a little bit more sense that way, as I'll be referencing it a bit throughout this fic. Normally in this series, I won't be doing that, but since these two are from the same fandom, I figure there won't be anyone that are missing things because they don't want spoilers. Thanks for the comment on Evie's character! I try to make her as much a 'real' character as any other, and I'm glad that's coming across.**

**Divergent912: Thanks! Jill's got a lot on her right now -especially with Adrian's emotions coming in. She may be better at blocking him out, but it still has got to be bumpy. Both she and Adrian were in a better place in the last fic I think.**


	4. Chapter 4

Of all the things I wish I could be doing, getting Sydney out was highest on my list. She didn't deserve what they're doing to her. She'd never be the same after the trauma they put her through. And it wasn't even just her who was affected; it was everyone she loved. You might have argued that Zoe wasn't affected, but she's been kept in the dark. It's different.

Everyone who knows can never look away.

I need an ally I can talk to. Ms. Terwilliger is helpful, but she's also kind of eccentric. I need someone more level headed.

"Eddie," I say into the phone. "I was wondering if we could talk? I know it's almost first period and you probably don't want to be late, I just need to tell you something."

"Sure," he answers. "What is it?"

"Can I meet you outside your dorm? Are you there?"

More concerned now, he says, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I'll explain when I get there. See you in a few minutes." I hang up.

A few people say hi to me on the way there. One girl catches my sleeve. "Evie! Oh my god, why didn't you call last night?"

Oh, I forgot about this one. What was her name? "Hi, Jenna."

"Where are you going? Don't you have to go to Ms. T's room first period?"

"Yeah. I forgot something is all."

She beamed a huge smile at me. "You need to duct tape everything to your clothes or something!"

I laugh. "Probably. I've gotta hurry though. See you later?"

She nods. "Maybe you can sit with me and Jarad during lunch! Ooh! I heard they're doing brownies today."

"Remember when they made those bad brownies though?" I added, proud that I could add to a conversation for once.

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. Maybe let's not get brownies." The warning bell rings, and she makes a squeaky noise and grabs my arm. "I'm gonna be late! Bye!" She runs.

Shaking my head, I continue my walk at a faster pace.

Before I'm even ten feet away from the building, Eddie sees me and says, "What's going on?"

"Come here," I tell him and lead him around the corner. There is a grassy area over on this side where some kids will come to study, others to loiter. No one is here now though. "I'm going to tell you something, and it's going to sound crazy."

"What is it?" He crosses his arms as if he's bracing himself for the news.

"Do you remember me calling you the night before Sydney... uh, you know."

He nods. "Yeah. You asked me about some show I don't watch."

I shake my head. "No I didn't."

"What do you mean? Yes you did!"

"No." This is so much harder the second time, especially since I have to break the news that the first time didn't work. "I asked you to help me with a plan."

He laughs, skeptical. "What kind of plan?"

"To save her."

He stops. "No you didn't."

I nod. "I did. You don't remember it, but the plan worked. For a while. The Sydney who tricked you wasn't Sydney. It was me." I didn't tell him she would have done the same. "She was running with Adrian, but he doesn't remember either."

"How? If all this happened, why are you the only one who knows about it?"

"I'm not. Ms. Terwilliger knows, and I'm pretty sure Sydney knows. Everyone else doesn't know because of magic."

"Yours? So, spirit magic? That's new..." He cocks his head to the side. "Why would you do that?"

"It's not spirit magic. I'm not a spirit user. I mean, I can be, sort of. I know how to be, but I'm not. I'm what's called a Traveler."

His left eye squints just a little, his eyebrows go lopsided. "You're trying to tell me that you're some type of species I've never heard of? And it's called a _traveler._"

I nod. "Kind of. Yeah. A Traveler can travel into books. Well, in my case it's books. For some, it's paintings. For some, it's movies. There's more I bet, but I can't think of them right now."

"So I'm not real?" He looks really confused at that. "No, that can't be right."

"It's not. You're real, but in the universe I'm coming from, you're not. In my universe, moroi and dhampirs aren't real; witches aren't real. There's no alchemists. It's all fiction."

"But that's impossible. How long have you been here? You have a whole life story. You're the biological daughter of a royal. How are you from a different universe?"

I held up my hands. "Magic. I don't know how to control it, but it happens."

He looks away and starts walking around to the back corner of the building. "This is impossible. You're impossible."

"Can I prove it?"

"Try. Please."

I try to think of something that's going to happen that Eddie will witness. At the moment, I can't think of anything. I sigh. "Oh great. I should stick to telling people I can prove it to. Um, the book is in Adrian and Sydney's points of view. I don't know. What do you know?" I keep thinking about it. "Adrian's going to go back to court. Soon. His mom's out of jail and is going to come and get him."

"That's unlikely.'

"Which makes it more proof when it happens. For now though, think. I went and found Adrian before Jill's show right? Don't tell her this -though she probably already knows- but he forgot. He was waiting for us to show up where Jill would usually show. I knew he felt super guilty after, and it kind of ruined the night for Jill, so I went and got him."

"And then you ruined it yourself," he snorts.

"I swear I didn't mean to do that!"

"I know." He stops and looks back at me. "So, you really aren't from this universe? Or are you playing a joke?"

"If I was playing a joke, would I really touch on anything having to do with Sydney?"

He nods thoughtfully. "So why are you telling me?"

"Because I needed to tell someone, and because I might need you."

"To do what?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't really figured it out."

"Does it have something to do with that?" He points, and I follow the direction of his finger down to the journal I hold in both hands. "It's full, but I've never seen you with it before yesterday."

I remember watching the Catching Fire movie. I can't remember now if this was a quote from the book or an interpretation to the script, but as Beetee said, "There's always a flaw in the system." Was I not supposed to have this then?

"I don't know," I admit. "I'm still interpreting It."

"What is it?" He opens his hand and turns it palm up. I hand him the book.

"My mom's journal. She knew Ms. Terwilliger before I was born."

"Your real mom, or Jill's mom?" He opens it to a random page. His eyes get wide. "This page looks like it's written in blood."

He holds it up to me, and I nod. "It does, but it's not. It's red ink. Look at the one before. Sometime between those two entries, she lost her pen, but she still had the ink."

"Sorry, but your mom seems weird."

I laugh. "Maybe. I wouldn't know."

Eddie closes the book. "You don't know her?"

"No. Not really."

I reach for the book, and he lets me have it. I flip to the first entry, where I'd already interpreted the underlines, and hand it back. "If you put the underlines together, the first sentence is, 'If you're reading this, you're about to learn closely guarded secrets.'"

He takes the book back and reads. "About what?"

"Hopefully these powers or whatever they are. I've gotten no help for sixteen years, and on my birthday she sends me this like it'll answer all my questions."

"And?"

"And I've only figured out the first sentence. I still have to do the rest."

A bell rings, far away, and he looks up. "We need to go."

"I know."

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"I tried to tell Jill, but she didn't believe me."

"I'll convince her."

I shake my head. "Eddie, she doesn't want to believe it. I offered proof, but I think it's just a lot to think about. She's worried and overwhelmed as it is."

"Are you going to help us get Sydney out?"

I shake my head. "If I mess up what already happens, she'll be in there much longer, and all of you will be in huge trouble. Actually, you might all be dead."

"Then what will you need me for?"

"Well, I'm going to try to lessen the blow for Adrian while I can, then Sydney. And there is one thing I really need to change, but I'm not going to tell you what it is yet."

"Why?"

"Because you'll never stop pressing me for information I don't have."

I take the journal back, close it, and head to my first period class. Eddie catches up with me quickly. "Wait, you can't just leave it at that!"

"Sorry."

"Can you tell me anything?"

"Fine. All you need to know is: don't stress. It's not your fault."

He didn't relax. "_Evie_!"

I turned the corner and stepped onto the path. "It's not your fault, and I'm going to stop it, because I don't want it to happen."

"Do you think it'll work this time, or will it be like Sydney?"

If there was ever a harsher hit to someone's guilt, I don't want to know about it. My breath actually catches, and I choke on the air that didn't get all the way down. I don't cough. I clear my throat and keep walking. "It's always at the end, so if something goes wrong, I can't fix the mistake."

"You made a mistake?"

"Pretty early on. Yes. I thought I could fix it, and by the time I realized what it had caused, it was too late to fix. I put myself in the alchemists sight instead. They thought I was her, that is until the charm wore off. Or I disappeared. One or the other."

"And Sydney?"

"She and Adrian left earlier that day. I was hoping they'd get away. I knew I wasn't going to be able to completely avoid it, but I thought if they had a head start, maybe they could do the second part on their own."

"And they couldn't?"

"I don't know what happens after I leave. Maybe all the stuff I did was undone. I don't know."

He and I split at a fork in the path, and he called to me. "Keep me updated, okay?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Just say okay."

I smile a little at him. "Sure. Okay."

**There's no reviews to respond to. I'd love to hear from you guys! Critique is also welcome. If you want to tear my sentences to shreds, I honestly would like it. I want to improve. I know this fic isn't as good as my other one, and I'm trying to figure out why.**

**I'm sorry it's taking a while to upload these chapters. I have a basic plot ready, but I'm trying to weave in a couple sub plots when Evie can't drive... Agh, this book is a bit cross-country... Also, my schedule is a lot more hectic this year. (Junior year is hard!) I'm hoping to upload at least one fic a week, and since I have two, on average you'll get a chapter every other week? Go ahead and yell at me if that doesn't happen...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters.**

I should be doing homework, or at least eating, but I got too curious.

I sit at a library table with the diary open on my left and a spiral notebook on the right, pen ready to write the next letter. It's lunch, but there'll always be dinner. I wasn't that hungry, and I didn't want to deal with Jenna.

As I have a dozen times, I reread what I have to make sure it makes sense. "If you're reading this, you are about to learn very closely guarded secrets. If you are not a Traveler, I suggest you close this book. Once you know, you can never escape."

For now, I've stopped here. Did I really want to know? Did I really want the constant danger that killed my grandfather before I was born? The secret that made my mother completely cut off from both me and my father? No, I didn't want to know.

I needed to.

"T-H-E-R-E-A-R-E-C-R-E-A" The bell rang. I'd have to go to class.

I've never wanted to skip a class more than right now, but I've never done it before. How did someone even do that? Could I just stay here, or would I have to go into the bathroom? It wouldn't be on my actual permanent record, right?

I went into the bathroom and sat in one of the stalls. I had to finish this. "There are creatures just as powerful as a Traveler, if not more so."

Someone came into the bathroom and I froze. Would someone tell on me? God, I'm a goody-two-shoes. The fact that I just said that is a tell in itself.

The girl breathes quickly, like she'd been running. Or she's crying. I don't know what to do. Who is it? I lean over, slowly, until I can see their shoes, and then realize I don't know anyone's shoes well enough to tell people apart yet. I didn't have time last time, and I'd been here one day, not even.

I closed the diary around the notebook and put them on my backpack, which I'd set on the floor, before opening the stall door. It was Jenna pacing up and down the length of one wall. When I open the door, she stops, then breaks down. "Evie!"

I go to her and she hugs me. "Evie, I hate him so much!"

"What happened?"

"Jarad broke up with me _at lunch_. He broke up with me in front of _everyone_!" Real tears started to fall, and I kept holding her, not sure what else to do. "He's such a jerk! Boys _suck_!"

Weren't they on and off anyway? That hadn't changed. "Why do you deal with it then?"

"Because... I don't know! Because he's my boyfriend."

"But he doesn't have to be. If he's so terrible, why do you need him?"

"I don't." She buries her wet face into my hair. "But I love him."

"Even now?"

She nods. "I wouldn't be upset if I didn't."

I hold back a sigh. If he's as bad as she'd explained before: never really taking her into consideration, never listening to anything she had to say, and often cheating on her, I don't understand why she still thinks she loved him.

"Why?"

"I don't know! He's my boyfriend. He's always been my boyfriend. Since we both got here. He was the first person I met. He just _is_ my boyfriend." She pulls away. "Oh god! I'm sorry... I totally broke down on you. You're wet now. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." I smile with my lips closed. "It's okay."

"No." She shakes her head and takes her backpack off the floor. "No, I should be at class. I need to go back to class." She looks in the mirror. Some of her hair sticks to her face, her cheeks are pink, and her eyes are puffy. "Oh god. Everyone's going to know I've been crying. And they already know he broke up with me. They'll know why too."

"Just take down your hair and keep your head down."

She nods and pulls her pony tail down. Her hair falls in waves. It reaches just below her chin. When she tilts her head down a little, it all falls into her face.

"See? No one will know."

She nods again. "I'm sorry. You probably need to be at class too. Sorry."

"It's okay. I promise."

She leaves and I go back into the stall and shut the door. The smile drops. I sit on the cold tile and slide the notebook from the diary. "There are crea-"

I opened the diary again, grateful to be done with that drama. I feel bad. I should be able to comfort her more. I should be the friend she thinks I am right now, but I'm not. I barely know her at all. She's like a fluke in the magic or something. That's too much to figure out for now though. I keep translating.

"There are creatures just as powerful as the Travelers, but unlike us, they don't know their own abilities."

I read it again. There was another species who were just as powerful, but I didn't know our power. What kind of power do we hold? I kept translating.

"They are called creators, and they've created every universe that exists and continue to create universes every day."

The bell rings, but I am too involved. I kept going. I'll get in trouble for this, but I'll say I didn't feel good or something. I have to keep going.

"They are the authors, painters, musicians. They are the artists of every universe. Everything they create that is fiction becomes real in another universe. We have the power to use art as a bridge to a new reality. Creators don't know that this happens though, and they are creating for entertainment. They believe the people they are manipulating are only characters; they aren't real, but they are, and they need saving from this control."

I stop. This sounds ridiculous. Creators: people who create universes with imagination and control the things they create like gods.

It's last period, Ms. T's free period now that Sydney is gone, so I gather my things and head to her room.

When I hand over the notebook, her reaction is nothing that I wouldn't expect. "Oh. Huh. Well, I suppose that makes sense."

"Does it? It seems so far-fetched."

"This coming form the girl who dreams reality."

I couldn't argue with that, so I just read it again. "So this universe is created by the author, not anything else?"

"When was the book released?" she asks.

"The first one was, what, 2005-ish? I'd have to check that."

"But I knew your mother before then." She thinks about this. "She said things become real in other universes. Maybe that has something to do with it?"

"Or maybe it's because she based it off mythology? Maybe this was where those particular stories existed? Either way, I guess... Wow, that's weird."

"What is?"

I laugh. "I think Richelle Mead is your goddess."

She laughs too. "The alchemists would have a fit."

That brings us back to Sydney though, and the laughing slowly dies. "You know," I say, "She will be okay."

"She'll be alive. I know you'd be trying to change things if she wasn't. Will she really be _okay _though?"

I hesitate. Last time I was here, I made promises I didn't keep.

I sit in a metal chair in the front row. "She's strong. If I can't help in time, she pushes through it. There's a couple other things I want to change that will help to lower the stress level." I hold back from snorting. If people would just stop disappearing, dying, and going crazy, it would lower everyone's stress level.

"Should we keep translating?" she asks.

"I can't imagine what more there could be to translate."

She looks down at the diary, open to where I left off. "The next letter is Y."

**Review Corner:**

**Jpitt: Thanks! There's no apology needed. If there's not a huge response, I just figure I must need some more critique, but unfortunately the more something needs critique, the less people are going to read it. I'm glad anyone reads any of my fics honestly. Thanks for being a reader! And I don't think it was a repeat chapter... though I certainly spent a very long time clicking around trying to make sure!**

**Rainy: I'm gonna try, though I'm not even completely sure what's going to happen myself. Nina, Nina, Nina...**

**Divergent912: Perfectly fine. And just started high school? Agh, I get it. I'm a Junior. School takes up _so much time! _Thanks for taking the time to review on this one :) And I couldn't help it! Eddie is just so darn cute with everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Richelle Mead's world or characters.**

Sleep is inaccessible as I stare at Sydney's bed.

I can't stop thinking about where she is, what she's going through. At least I'm not in Adrian's situation. I don't have to guess, but I just want to help her now. If only that was possible.

I wonder if it is, and I just don't know how to do it. I wonder if the journal will give me the answers I need to get her out earlier than what seems plausible.

_No, _I tell myself. _Go to sleep._

I glance at the journal again. It sits on my nightstand where I put it when I finally decided I need to sleep. I want to keep decoding, to hopefully find out what to do, but I can't.

What does that last part mean? Since I've gone to Ms. Terwilliger's room, I've decoded, "You're mission is to help out as many people as possible and to let as many live in peace in the end as you can. If this costs you your life, your possessions, and the ones closest to you, it doesn't matter. Because it will save as many as you decide to save. There is a small number of us in existence. The creators far outnumber us. A creator may stop creating. There's an abundance of them. But there is a limited number of us. We must always be working."

I don't want to give up everything for these dreams that aren't dreams, but I can't just stop either. I save lives now. From now on, I am important.

It makes my head hurt. At home, I have an anatomy quiz tomorrow on bones, and I can't tell you the fibula from the tibia if my life depended on it. Now, I not only have a whole other life in my sleep, but I'm actually putting people's lives in the balance.

I guess I always was in this position, but I never really knew what was happening. If I mess up, I'm not the only one who will suffer. One wrong move here won't mess up my GPA. It can kill.

I kick off the blankets, suddenly feeling trapped underneath them, and lay staring at the wall. I push Sydney from my mind. I push my mom from my mind. I focus on pretending I'm back in my bed at home, cuddled up on my softest pillow with my copy of my favorite Emily Dickinson book on the nightstand like I'd left it so I'd remember to bring it to school the next day.

That is how I fall asleep: in a fantasy.

My cell phone wakes me up the next day. I answer it with my mind still groggy. "Hello?"

"Evie, are you still sleeping?" It's Eddie.

"Um, no." I look at the time on my cell. It says it's already seven. I should be down in the cafeteria. Sydney's alarm woke me up last time I was here. "What's up?"

"Your prediction came true. Jill told me Adrian left with his mom this morning."

"Mmm? Well, I'm glad I didn't get the date wrong."

"Sorry. I know it's not weird for you. It's just proof, you know? Okay. You said you wanted to tell me so you had a backup or something, right? You can call me if you need me."

Good. I have him on my side again. "I'm going to be downstairs in, like, five minutes. Are we eating breakfast together?"

"Yeah. We always do."

"Right."

"Oh sorry. You're new here. It doesn't feel like that."

I nod, despite the fact that he can't see me. "Yeah. I know."

"I'll see you in five then?"

"Yep. See you then."

"Bye." He hangs up.

I quickly get dressed, barely remembering to check if my skirt is on inside out, which is good because it is, and I leave my room in under five minutes. I shove my room key in my pocket on my way down the stairs and almost bump into someone. "Oh! Sorry."

They turn around. It's Julia. "Oh, uh, hey," I say.

"Hey," she says simply. We walk down like that, her a few steps ahead of me.

At the bottom of the stairs, she turns toward the cafeteria as well, and I continue to follow her. She moves out of the way of the doorway as we enter and looks around, standing on her toes to see. I watch her look around a moment before finally offering, "Do you want to sit at our table?"

"No," she says. "I'll find Kristin."

I look around, but I don't see Kristin anywhere. "If you want to sit with us, you can."

She nods, and I head toward the table that we always sit at. It's mostly empty. Everyone's still up getting food, but Eddie's waiting for me, his tray half-empty already.

Someone grabs me from behind, and I spin on my heals into Jenna. "Oh my god! What are you doing?"

"Sorry," I say, bringing my hand to my chest. "You scared me."

"Why didn't you text me last night? Are you going to do this again?"

"Do what again?"

"Go through that weird thing where suddenly you're avoiding me? You did it a few months ago too. Then you completely vanished. You still haven't explained that."

"What are you talking about?" I vanished?

"They act like you didn't leave, but I remember you leaving. I mean, I kind of remember you being here..." She looks nervous suddenly. "Oh my god, were you here or not? Were you just avoiding me that whole time? No... That's not right..."

"What?" Had she seen through whatever Traveler magic I have? How does that work?

"You were here for a while, then you just disappeared. Then, suddenly, I can remember you being here the whole time. But I remember you weren't."

Two different memory paths? Like Ms. T described. I grabbed Jenna by the wrist and bring her to the table with me. "Eddie," I say, "You wanted to learn more, didn't you?"

"Hi," he says. "Good morning."

"_Eddie_."

"Yeah. Yes. I do."

"Well, I'm about to learn more too. Do you want to come?"

Jenna pulls her hand away. "What are you two talking about?"

"Wait," I tell her and look back to Eddie. He looks over at the line where Jill and Angeline are waiting to pay.

"I shouldn't go," he says.

"But..."

"But I do want to know more..."

"Angeline's here, and Trey will be back soon. Jill will be okay. We're not going off campus or anything."

He nods and stands.

"Evie!" Jenna wines. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain on the way," I tell her, "But we have to go see Ms. Terwilliger."

"Why? What does our history teacher have to do with anything?"

"She's not just a history teacher. C'mon." I motion to her before weaving through the crowd back to the door. As soon as the crowd thins, I quicken my pace. Jenna, not tall enough to have a long stride, struggles to keep up.

"Evie!"

"Why do we need to bring Jenna?" Eddie asks. "Does she know?"

"No. I thought she was some sort of fluke in the magic or something, but I think it goes deeper than that."

"Magic? Evie, you said you were going to explain."

"Fine. I'm from another universe. I'm not human, and I used a book and my magic to cross over into this universe. This is Eddie. He's not human either. Different kind of not human. I'm not allowed to say why. Most of our group isn't human actually. Again, I can't really explain. The alchemists will have my head, and god do I wish that was a joke."

"That's crazy," she accuses.

"Why do you think I disappeared and no one remembers? I made them forget." That wasn't strictly on purpose, but she didn't need to know that yet.

"But another universe?"

"Oh and Ms. T is human, but she can use magic. She also knew another Traveler like me, and she knows a bunch about magic and things like that. That's why I'm bringing you to her."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only person who remembers me being gone without good reason. Ms. T remembers because she uses magic, but you don't use magic. Right?"

I glance back at her, and she shakes her head. "No. That's not even- Or I didn't know it was possible. I don't know if I believe this. You're gonna have to prove it."

"You're not in the book. I can't feed you bits of your future like I usually do to prove it. I don't know what I would do. Ms. T can prove magic exists. You'll just have to use your imagination from there."

"I'm not in the book? What does that mean? Are you buying this?" She was talking to Eddie now.

"She proved it to me. I guess I'm in the book."

"Jenna, you shouldn't exist as far as I know, and I have no idea what that means. That's what I'm trying to figure out." God, now I'd have to figure this out before the end of the book, get to Court so I can fix the damage before it's damaged, then I have to get back here and save Jill. And I don't even have a driver's license. Great.

We get to the building and I hold the door for them out of habit. Eddie tries to hold it for me, and I don't bother fighting over it. He won't let me hold it for him. He still sees me as moroi and a friend.

I knock on Ms. T's door. "One second!" she calls.

"It's me," I say.

"Oh, Evie. Come in!'

I open the door. When she sees Jenna, she quickly shuts the leather-bound book she's reading and puts her hand over the golden type. It says something in another language that I can't read. "Oh, Jenna. Eddie. Hello."

"Ms. T, you told Sydney she had potential within one class period. Have you ever noticed anything like that in Jenna?"

She frowns. "No. Should I have?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. Something's going on. I thought there was a fluke in the magic or something, but it's not a fluke."

"She says it's weird that I can remember her not being here," Jenna says. "It's weird: like the past few months have happened twice. And earlier too. It's like, the only time that's normal is when she's not acting like... Evie."

Ms. Terwilliger looks interested now. "You mean to say you can remember her being here and not being here at the same time?"

She blushes. "That's crazy but kind of. Yeah."

"No. That's not crazy. That's abnormal, but that's not crazy. This might sound very forward, but what religion do you practice?"

Jenna shrugs. "Um, I'm not really that religious. I mean, I celebrate Christmas with my family, but beyond that not much."

"Have you ever done any spells or voodoo with friends or something? Maybe as a joke at a sleepover or something?"

She shakes her head.

"Have you ever been hypnotized?"

She shakes her head again. "Would that be magic."

"I don't know. I'm just exploring possibilities. Have you ever had any experience with magic whatsoever?"

"Not that I know of. I still don't get it. Evie, did you just get here or something? Like, you said you came from another... universe? That's so weird to say. How? When? Why am I the only one that knows. This doesn't... I don't really get it."

"I told her," I say, "You'd show her something to prove magic's real, because I don't have any way of proving to her that I have magic. She wasn't in the book, so I can't play fortune-teller."

Ms. T thinks a moment, opens her water bottle, and moves her papers aside. She pours a little bit onto the desk and then murmers "aqua in aerem evanescit . Siccabis superficiei "

The water evaporates. The magic is silent, sent less, invisible. Jenna, for once, is silent.

Then, "how did you do _that_? Have you always been able to do that?" Jenna puts her hand out, hesitantly, and touches the spot where the water was. As soon as her fingertips brush the wood, she pulls them away. Her eyes double in size and she wipes her hand on her jeans.

"Jen," Eddie says. "This is probably a lot to take in. If you want to-"

"Why don't I know about this?" She turns to me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry," I say. "I'd sound crazy without proof, and I can't go around talking about the moroi, dhampirs, and stuff to anyone. I mean, there are rules against that."

"What kind of rules? Like laws? There's freedom of speech." She crosses her arms and sits on a desk in the front row. Her eyes are still huge.

"Not in the Alchemists."

**Review Corner:**

**Divergent912: Thanks for finding it interesting. I hope I've been explaining it well. There's so much world building in the Traveler's world that needs to be gone through, and I've honestly yet to write a majority of it down, so I'm just doing my best to get the point across correctly. As for Evie using spirit magic, the only time she did it was in TT: Bloodlines, and she hasn't done it since. If she does end up needing/using it, she'll likely have to go about it in the same way. In theory, she could practice any sort of magic, but she hasn't done so.**

**Charmed Ivashkov: I'm glad you're taking interest. Like I said above, I'm just hoping it comes across in an easy to understand way. It's hard to transfer such a complicated world into a message like this. Thanks so much for reading so much of my work so quickly! I read your other comment as well. I'm so happy you're enjoying it, and glad to have reader in my TT fics.**


End file.
